At a Glance…
When Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October, 2009
Where Autodromo Carlos Pace, Interlagos, Brazil
Round 16 of 17
Standings
Standings AT&T Williams 34.5pts (6th), N Rosberg 34.5pts (7th), K Nakajima 0pts (17th)

Brazil’s Hot Topics
Will a São Paulo shower influence the race?
Will any of the contenders sew up a Championship?
What next for the driver market?

Race Data
Friday:
Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2: 14:00 - 15:30
Saturday:
Practice 3: 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying: 14:00 – 15:00
Sunday:
Race: 14:00
Lap Distance 4.309km Laps 71 Distance 305.909kms

Interlagos, São Paulo, Brazil
The third anti-clockwise circuit of the campaign, after Istanbul Park and Singapore, Interlagos features a long, long uphill left-hander that places a tremendous strain on drivers’ necks – and tyres. In ordinary circumstances, this is yet another two-stop race: McLaren gambled on a three-stop strategy when trying to revive Lewis Hamilton’s title hopes in 2007 and the Englishman dropped more than half a minute to the pace-setting Ferraris. Hamilton and many others subsequently made unscheduled third stops in 2008 because of a torrential downpour, almost a daily occurrence at this time of year in São Paulo.

Talking Technical:

Car Dynamics:
Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s corners expressed in degrees. The higher the average turn angle, the more acute the corners in the circuit’s configuration and the greater propensity for understeer to compromise lap time. Average turn angle at Interlagos is 1220 - which is above average as the second sector of the lap comprises a mix of long, high speed corners.

The end of straight (EOS) speed at Interlagos was 305kp/h in 2008. The Brazilian track ranks as having the 8th highest EOS speed on the 2009 calendar, and this is one indicator of the wing level typically selected to optimise the downforce/drag ratio. Meanwhile, Interlagos also has the 7th highest average lap speed of any of the tracks on the calendar.

Pitlane & Refuelling Strategy
The pitlane length and profile contribute to the determination of the optimum fuel strategy. The pitlane loss at Interlagos is approximately 21.0 seconds, which is the 8th most penalising pitlane in the Championship. To complete a normalised distance of 5km around Interlagos requires 2.29kg of fuel against an average of 2.42kg per 5km across all circuits this season, ranking the circuit as the 3rd least demanding in terms of fuel consumption.

Safety Car
Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is the likelihood of safety car deployments, which are influenced by weather considerations, the availability of clear run-off areas that allow racing to continue while recovery takes place and the circuit profile, especially the character of the entry and exit into turn one at the start of the race. There have been eight safety car deployments since 2000, so the circuit’s character is very likely to induce a safety car period.

Temperature, Pressure & Humidity
As an example, it is a long observed tradition that drivers arriving at Interlagos complain about a lack of grip and an absence of engine power. Having become acquainted with a baseline of engine and aerodynamic performance during the season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level for one of the final races can, courtesy of the reduction in air density, rob a Formula One car of engine power, aerodynamic performance and cooling. The losses can come close to double digit percentages and thus have a very real impact on car performance.

Air density is a factor of the prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most significantly by season, air pressure which is closely linked to altitude and, to a much smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if races are run at the same time each year, the factor that tends to have the greatest bearing on air density is elevation. Interlagos is 750m above sea level and has the lowest average pressure (927 mbar) of any race venue in the 2009 Championship. As a consequence, the circuit’s ambient characteristics will have the largest reduction of engine power of any race this year.

What the Drivers Say:

Thoughts on the Japanese Grand Prix
Nico “It was a strange weekend in Japan. The weather on Friday made things quite tricky as we didn’t have much time to prepare the car, then all the incidents during qualifying made for an interesting session as well. What happened in Q2 obviously affected qualifying for me, but then I benefitted from all of the grid penalties. In the end, I started from 7th and ended the race in P5, collecting more points which I was pleased about after Singapore.”

Kazuki “Japan was just disappointing for me really. I really went there hoping to score points as I was back home at Suzuka in front of my home fans but it wasn’t to be.”

What we did after Japan
Kazuki “Work didn’t stop when the race finished for me. I went straight back to Tokyo on the Monday for a driver appearance for AT&T in the evening, then I had another event on Tuesday for Accenture. Marketing duties ended on Wednesday and I have spent the week in Japan with my friends and family as I get to see so little of them during the season. I’ll travel straight to Brazil from here, so it’s been a long trip!”

Nico ”I went straight back to Monaco after Japan. As it was a back-to-back with Singapore, it was a long trip away so it was nice to get back home. I’m heading out to Brazil a little earlier, on Monday, as I have a driver day for Allianz in Brazil on Tuesday.”

About Brazil
Kazuki “Brazil is very different to Japan so it’ll be a complete change going there next week! I like it though. The fans are always amazing; they’re really passionate about Formula One, so it’s nice to experience the atmosphere. On Wednesday I’m with AT&T, so hopefully I’ll get to experience some proper Brazilian culture with them before the weekend begins.”

Nico “I love Brazil. It’s such a vibrant country and São Paulo is cool. It’s normally the last race of the year so there are a few parties, but I imagine it will be different this year now it’s not the last race on the calendar. Either way, it’s a great place to have a race so I’m looking forward to it.”

Interlagos from a technical perspective
Kazuki “Interlagos is a fairly challenging track because it’s so bumpy and goes in an anti-clockwise direction, but it’s really exciting to drive. There are some good overtaking opportunities, which is good because the grid will no doubt be tight because of the shorter lap time and it’s important to qualify well. We’ll have to do lots of work on Friday to find the right set-up and achieve a strong mechanical balance to cope with the track’s layout, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Nico “Interlagos is a really fun track to drive as it has a bit of everything – gradient changes, a complete mix of corners and it runs in an anti-clockwise direction which presents a different challenge for the drivers, especially for our neck muscles. Last year wasn’t so great for us because of the rain at the start of the race which left us towards the rear of the field, so I really hope we go there and do well this time."